Description
This visually evocative drama, directed by the legendary Marlen Khutsiev and completed after his death, is inspired by the real-life encounters between Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy. Through a series of intimate conversations, the two literary giants confront the fundamental questions of existence—life, death, faith, and immortality. In doing so, they reveal profoundly different worldviews, yet ones rooted in a shared cultural tradition and bound by mutual respect.
In 2026, the film was finished at the initiative of Marlen Khutsiev’s friends and colleagues.
The film was completed by:
Artistic Supervisors: Ali Khamraev, Naum Kleiman
Editor: Andrei Natotcinskii
Sound Designer: Konstantin Chervyakov
Executive Producer: Gleb Piryatinskiy
Producer: Yana Yurysheva
Production: mal de mer films
About the director:
Marlen Khutsiev
One of the most influential directors of Soviet and Russian cinema. Renowned for his lyrical, deeply humanist approach, he created films that explore the inner lives of his characters against the backdrop of social and historical change. His work is celebrated for its poetic realism, visual inventiveness, and profound empathy, establishing him as a master of cinematic storytelling and a defining voice of auteur cinema.
Marlen Khutsiev’s films include Spring on Zarechnaya Street (1956), The Two Fedors (1958), I Am Twenty (1965), July Rain (1966), Epilogue (1983), and Infinitas (1991). Among his many honours are the State Prize of the Russian Federation, a prize at the Venice International Film Festival, and the Leopard of Honour for his contribution to cinema at the Locarno Film Festival. Unfading Dawn (Nevechernyaya) was Khutsiev’s final film. He continued working on it until the last days of his life.